Nigerians Should Expect Deadlier Pandemic Either Simultaneously Or After Covid-19
By Barr. (Chief)-Malcolm Omirhobo
LAGOS APRIL 14TH (NEWSRANGERS)-My fellow Nigerians , I sympathise with you and the whole world for the sorrows , pains , loss and hardship that we are going through as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging mankind today .
I know that , like every other pandemic that has tormented mankind in the past , covid 19 will be conquered by man for him to blossom , flourish and prosper again .
I know also that after the Coronavirus pandemic, there will be global recession and depression which we as a nation must brace up to, but then that is not the core of my message . The core of my message is that I want us as one big family to be prepared for a more deadlier disease than the Coronavirus pandemic that may or is likely to consume us brutally and speedily if we fail to prepare ourselves mentally to handle it given the advantage and opportunity of seeing it coming .
The disease I am talking about here is nothing other than the Failed State Disease. (FSD Ng . 20s). It is my estimation that this disease may hit us anytime shortly after the Coronavirus pandemic or even simultaneously with the Coronavirus pandemic if we fail to take necessary precautions.
Let us not pretend about it , Nigeria as a matter of fact is already a failed State and the only twig that is holding the country together is military coercion that will soon give way because the indices are there . Without boring you, let me quickly adumbrate them :
The Federal Government of Nigeria has woefully failed in her primary responsibility of ensuring that the human and fundamental rights of her citizens are being protected as guaranteed by the Nigerian constitution.
The Federal Government has failed to protect the lives and properties of her citizens. In Nigeria today the blood of Nigerians count for nothing as they are being killed , slaughtered and murdered on daily bases by Terrorist/ Boko Haram groups and Fulani herdsmen with their cousins from other West African Countries while the Federal Government turns a blind eye.
Nigerians on daily bases have their properties destroyed and their lands seized , taken over and occupied by foreigners without any consequences, while these Nigerians are made to live in IDP camps without any hope of returning to their ancestral homes .
Nigerians on daily bases are kidnapped, rapeD, robbed , extorted , maimed , tortured by bandits, Fulani herdsmen and Terrorist groups without any consequences.
Nigeria is an under policed country with a poorly trained, motivated and poorly equipped police force smaller wonder the Amotekun security initiative in the South West Zone of Nigeria .
The borders of Nigeria are porous especially in the North where the Federal Government has lost control of its borders . Terrorist and Fulani herdsmen come into Nigeria at will to commit havoc against Nigerians and go out when they pleases.
The Federal Government is corrupt to its marrow . Nigeria is a habitat for the procreation of corruption and criminal acts .The misappropriation of the funds donated to her by well meaning individuals and corporate bodies to take care of her citizens to cushion the adverse effects of the lockdown as a result of the fight to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic and arson that followed in a bid to cover up is a fresh case in mind.
All our social and public infrastructures/amenities, roads, airports , transport system , education, electricity and water supply are dilapidated, obsolete, non functional and inadequate to meet the needs of Nigerians. The deplorable and poor state of the country’s health sector in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic is a clear indication.
Shortly before the Coronavirus pandemic if you go to all the embassies of all the countries in the world as near as Benin Republic and as far as the Russia you will see our best brains trying desperately to get out of Nigeria for greener pastures because Nigeria has become unbearable to live in .
The Federal Government of Nigeria is broke and cannot function without aids, loans or intervention funds . We have little or no foreign reserves. Recently we were talking of borrowing from China and in heat of the Coronavirus pandemic Nigeria was begging for ventilators and aid to revamp our deplorable health sector to combat the Coronavirus Pandemic The FGN is owing salaries of civil servants in arrears and pensioners are owed and their funds depleted recently to execute phoney elephant projects without any hope of refund.
Oil which formerly sustained Nigeria can no longer do so so now we are running deficit budgets that are not realistic year in year out.
A Nigeria is a with Military in interference in politics . We saw this during the last general elections .
Nigeria is country determined by group based inequalities, or perceived in equalities , in education jobs and economics status.
Nigeria is a country decline of the society as a whole (using per capital income, GNP debts, child mortality rate, poverty level , business failure ).
Nigeria is a country with collapse or devaluation of the National currency.
Nigeria is a country with endemic corruption or profiteering by ruling elites and resistance to transparency, accountability and political representation . Include any wide spread loss of popular confidence in State institution and processes.
Nigeria is a country with an emergence of authoritarian, dictatorial or military rule in which constitutional or democratic institutions and processes are suspended or manipulated .
Nigerian is a country with a rising number of political prisoners or dissident who are denied due process consistent with international norms and practices.
Nigeria is a country with the setting for arm revolt and other hostile conflict between the central government and one or more insurgencies . The Boko haram insurgency is a clear case.
Nigeria is a country using the State apparatus to serve the ruling elites. The use of the DSS and the EFCC are clear examples .
In Nigeria , there is the wide. spread of abuse of legal , political and social rights , including those of individuals , groups,or cultural institution . Good examples are the harassment of the press , politicalization of the judiciary , internal use of the military for political ends , public repression of political opponents, religious or cultural prosecution .
It is no news that the Nigerian judiciary is not independent as they are being coerced, harassed, embarrassed and intimidated by the executive arm of government. The height of it was removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria via motion exparte and the planting of a puppet CJN in place to concoct , conjure and manipulate judgments at the supreme court of Nigeria to favour the president and his political party .
With the hate speech bill at the door of the National Assembly one can easily understand the stand of the FGN when it comes to freedom of speech in Nigeria .
The FGN is not pretending when it comes to the attack on the fourth realm of power . We have several cases of journalists that have been brutalised and incarcerated for no just cause .
The FGN have deliberately weaken the internal security infrastructure of the country by using the Nigerian Military to usurp the statutory responsibilities of the Nigerian police via several Military operations like operation python dance, crocodile simile, operation positive identification etc .
In Nigeria with the tacit support of the F G N the indigenous peoples in the North Central and North east Zones are forcefully uprooted from their communities to I D P camps or forced to disperse as a result of random or targeted violence and/or repression, causing food shortages, disease, ,lack of clean water,land competition, and turmoil that can spiral into larger humanitarian and security problems, both within the country and between countries .
Nigeria is a country where the people of the South East Zone feel that they were unjustly treated during the Biafra Nigeria War and have not been apologised to and are still marginalized.
Nigeria is a country where in recent times with the tacit support of the F G N atrocities against human are being committed with impunity against communal groups and / or specific groups singled out by the F G N or by Fulani herdsmen gfor persecution or repression.
Nigeria is a country with institutionalised political exclusion of the populace .
Nigeria is a country where it’s components parts are demanding for shared governance or autonomy that rationalize or justify the waive of violence . The case of the agitation of Biafra, Oduduwa Republic , the Niger Delta Republic and the people of the middle Belt struggle to emancipate themselves from the entrapment of being part of Nigeria.
Nigeria is a country with economic and social inequality and economic decline .
Nigeria is a country with escalation of communal group (ethnic or religious ) clashes .
Nigeria is a country that has lost the trust from the populace . The outbreak of the Coronavirus has shown the Nigerian populace that the F G N has not plan for them not to talk of their future . The F G N have locked down Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States without providing food for them essentials like water and electricity supply . The populace have come to realise that they are on their own as they have no social security or insurance in time of emergency .
Nigeria is a State that ignores the United Nations or big power entreaties to respect human and fundamental right , intolerance of dissent, harrass and intimidates opponents and have descend into paroxysms of ethic cleansing and genocide by her proxies the Fulani herdsmen and Boko haram Terrorist groups .
Now with the above indices , it is not that I am dramatising but simply stating the obvious facts and bitter truth and nothing but the truth .
The way going forward to advert this imminent and pending human disaster that awaits Nigeria is for the F G N to swallow it’s pride and arrogance and be truthful for once by doing the following things :
1) Give power back to the Nigerian people by giving them a peoples constitution . Here every State will have the autonomy to run their own show with little interference from the F G N at the center .
2) Providing Security by ensuring that Nigeria is well policed to the grass root level .
Applying the Chadian approach put an end to the Terrorism in Nigeria .Once life and properties of Nigerians are secured and protected then the entire country will prosper and flourish again . People can now go back to their farms and more foreign investors will have the confidence to come to Nigeria to invest
3) The FGN must cut down on the cost of running government . For instance anybody with a fraction of brain will know that we cannot borrow to pay the humongous salaries of public servants like the law makers and , president, governors, ministers etc .
4) Stop taking unnecessary loans and look inwards to fund government projects . With a good approach the FGN can raise funds internally . Look at how much was raised within three weeks to assist the F G N to combat the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
5)Stop dependence on Oil . The F G N must quickly with all sincerity of purpose diversify the economy looking at Agriculture and so tapping on our human resources and potentials .
6) Stop Corruption , embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds .
On the part of the Nigerian public , I urge us not to be violent, to be patient, law abiding , peaceful and respect constituted authorities but at the same time we must not fail to hold them accountable .
This is a clarion call or if you will the last call to avert disaster in our fatherland Nigeria failing which the rest of the world will ignore us for us to kill and destroy ourselves because they do not owe any obligation to intervene and more importantly their hands will be full battling with the economic recession and depression that will be the aftermath of the Corona virus .
My country men we need to help ourselves because if we choose to go the way of other failed states by killing ourselves and destroying our properties it will be at our own peril.
A stitch in time saves nine .
Long live the great people of Nigeria .
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria .
Barr ( Chief) Malcolm Omirhobo, an Activist and legal luminary writes from Lagos
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